WEST ORANGE – By acclamation, the Essex County Democratic Committee today picked Leroy Jones as chairman of the county organization.
The East Orange Democratic Committee chair, Jones is a former assemblyman and longtime party insider.
“This is going to be a unified party,” said Jones, moments after accepting the chairmanship by voice vote. “I’m not a miracle worker, but we will do what we do best – elect good Democrats in the county and in the state.”
Jones succeeds the late Chairman Phil Thigpen, who died last month at age 87.
NJ State Democratic Party Chairman, John Currie said, “Today as we honor the legacy of Philip Thigpen, I have confidence that Leroy Jones will carry the baton and help shape the next generation of leaders from this region.”
Biography, as furnished by the Essex Democratic Committee
Jones joined 1868 Public Affairs after a career as a State Legislator, County Freeholder and municipal government administrator. He served four terms in the New Jersey General Assembly – including two years as Deputy Minority Leader – where he worked on the Appropriations, Regulatory Oversight, Solid Waste and Recycling, Financial Institutions and Local Government committees, as well as the Assembly Task Force on Foreign Banking and Task Force on Business Retention and Expansion. He also served on the State House Commission.
As a two-term Essex County Freeholder, Jones served as Chairman of the Budget Committee, on the Minority Affairs Committee and on the Essex County Planning Board.
He served as the City Administrator of East Orange for seven years where he was responsible for developing the city’s $100 million operating budget, served as the chief liaison between the Mayor and Council and managed the city’s ten department heads.
He also served in various positions at PSE&G in his professional career, including Business Development Manager, Director of Workforce Diversity and Public Affairs Manager. Prior to that he worked for AT&T Corp. as a Senior Accounting Specialist, Assistant Manager for Corporate Taxes and Internal Auditor.
Assembly Speaker Shelia Oliver (D-34) made Jones a Commissioner of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority in 2012.
He is currently the East Orange Democratic Municipal Committee Chairman, a position to which he was elected in 2002 and has been re-elected to four times. Mr. Jones served as the Essex County Campaign Director for Governor Jon Corzine’s 2009 re-election campaign, and served as Co-Campaign Chairman for Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo in 2010.
Jones is a Trustee of the Essex County Democratic Committee, appointed by Essex County Democratic Chairman Philip Thigpen in 2002. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Seton Hall University, where he has taught Public Policy for the last six years.
A resident of East Orange, Jones holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Seton Hall University.
